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Letting Stuff Go

June 24, 2014 by still a dreamer

Each year in my town, something wonderful happens – you can put anything you no longer want at the edge of your property and the town hauls it away for nothing! That day is this coming Saturday. And this morning it put me in a panic.

Last Saturday was the townwide yard sale where people tried to sell that same stuff. At the end of the day, some of it is taken inside and the rest is left there for the carrion pickers who start cruising the neighborhood in their pick-ups and vans. You can put anything out for those folk, but no items containing freon, electronics, and lead-based paint kind-of-stuff for the town pick-up. I’ve watched my neighbors put out bookshelves, office chairs, an air-conditioner, two small stools, and it’s already been picked up and gone.

Hydrangeas2

I took these this morning – so lovely.  (They are actually here just to break up the text — enjoy.) 

It’s a great deal, so why panic? I already knew what I was putting out – a bunch of items that are beyond ready to go – my ancient sewing machine, (yeah – from high school!), an equally ancient vacuum whose motor just won’t die, but ran out of intact attachments, a broken lawn chair – you get the idea. When I woke up, however, it was apparent that my mind had already been running amok with what else I should put out on the curb.

I started mentally racing from closet to closet, back down the basement – what WAS in those 2 large cardboard boxes? Did I really need that old heater? Back upstairs – my turntable died about 6 months ago – it could go, too. Was I going to replace it? If not, how many of those LP’s do I need to keep? And into the pantry – did I need those canisters on the top shelf? What about the indoor electric grill – I haven’t used it since I lived here … and suddenly it dawned on me. I could get rid of maybe 10% to 15% of my belongings and it would make no difference in my life.

Wow. I was blown away – what a concept. Then back into panic mode – how much of this stuff could I conceivably get on the street in time?

OK, whooooaaaaaaa. Slow down, Nellie. It doesn’t have to all go out this Saturday. Or ever. We can think about it.

On my own behalf, I’ll say none of this is new stuff that I just got tired of – it’s stuff that I’ve gathered and used over the years, some of which genuinely needs replacing, (like the sewing machine.) And to think, I have very little storage space – a tiny basement, no attic, and no garage. My home is neat, and clearly I’ve learned to maximize storage space.

It’s time for a change – I’m ready to start letting past parts of my life go, whether 3-dimensionally or maybe metaphorically. The not wanted, the not used, the not needed. I’m ready to feel lighter, and unbound by things and ideas which populated my past, and … someone will take it away for free.

My breathing has slowed – I’m feeling lighter already.

 

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Posted in Home Stuff, Life, Reflections | Tagged letting go, releasing, transition, trash pickup, yard sale | 9 Comments

9 Responses

  1. on June 24, 2014 at 7:26 pm Cynthia Reyes

    Congrats!! I’m impressed. We must do it – we must. But it can be tough to decide what to get rid of, and to buckle down and do the work. Glad you didn’t throw it the beautiful blooming hydrangea though!

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    • on June 25, 2014 at 9:13 am still a dreamer

      Thanks, and I’ll be impressed, too, once I get it all out on the street and then watch it vanish! Keeping the beauty, flowers included. 🙂

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      • on June 25, 2014 at 10:27 am Cynthia Reyes

        Okey dokes!

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  2. on June 25, 2014 at 7:32 am home, garden, life

    You go girl…see my post on clutter…http://dianelasauce.wordpress.com/2011/09/08/the-thing-about-clutter/

    Enjoy and have fun with the purge…

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    • on June 25, 2014 at 9:15 am still a dreamer

      The good thing is that I think this is just the beginning … so long as I get larger items out for Saturday, I can always get smaller ones out in the regular trash pick-up. A purge — good word for it! I’ll check out your post, too. Thanks.

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  3. on July 17, 2014 at 5:46 am Gallivanta

    Ah, the relief of letting go…. 🙂

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    • on July 17, 2014 at 9:50 am still a dreamer

      And I’m still going at it, though on a smaller scale and intermittently. LOL.

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      • on July 18, 2014 at 6:49 am Gallivanta

        Letting go always seems to be a work in progress.

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        • on July 18, 2014 at 9:26 am still a dreamer

          Isn’t that the truth! And on so many levels, too.

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